'Naomi's Wish' Cypress Hollow Yarn #3 by Rachael Herron

From the BLURB:

It had always been Dr Naomi Fontaine's dream to practice small-town medicine - an ambition that has brought her to the quirky, tight-knit community of Cypress Hollow. But no matter how hard she tries, the locals still treat her with suspicion.

Then ruggedly handsome Rig Keller walks into town and Naomi's heart stops for all the wrong reasons.

For a few months back Rig was a rip-roaring, throw-caution-to-the wind one night stand. Now he's her partner at the practice - and keen to play doctors once more...

Will the instantly popular new medic wreck her dreams? Or be the one to help make her wish come true...?

Dr Naomi Fontaine might have made a huge mistake in moving to Cypress Hollow. The townsfolk are wary of her and even after months of being the only doctor in town and eating at the same diner every morning, nobody has really warmed up to her. Not that she can blame them . . .  Naomi knows that while she’s a great doctor, her bedside manner leaves a little something to be desired. She can’t do chit-chat or idle small-talk; she’s painfully shy and in the past that aloofness has come across as stuck-up.

Naomi could have helped herself if she’d just explained the reason she moved to Cypress Hollow in the first place – Eliza Carpenter. The famed knitter and writer was Naomi’s patient, and eventually a very dear friend . . .  until she died of cancer. But in the months that they’d had to grow close to one another, Eliza spoke constantly of Cypress Hollow – and instilled a great wish in Naomi to move to the little town and call it home. Naomi started out with high-hopes for the Hollow – and even opened a free clinic, in honour of her deceased father; a doctor who Naomi loved dearly, so much so that she followed in his footsteps.

But everything is falling apart, and maybe it’s all Naomi’s fault. . .  so maybe that’s why she had a hot, intense fling at an out-of-town conference with the handsomest man she had ever seen.

Just when Naomi is at her lowest, a stranger comes to Cypress Hollow – a stranger who Naomi sort of knows, after their one night together.

Hank ‘Rig’ Keller has returned from his lonely job as doctor on the oil-rigs to stay with his widowed brother, little nephew Milo and elderly father, Frank. He is even thinking of buying into the local practice, currently manned by one doctor . . .  who, surprise-surprise! happens to be the one-night stand he can’t stop thinking about.

Rig Keller didn’t expect to trip over Doc Fontaine ever again, but now that he has he can’t seem to get her out of his system. Not even with the complication of them working together (or the technicality that Naomi is his boss). Rig can’t even help his attraction when Naomi’s little sister, by all accounts a reckless wanderer, turns up on her doorstep seven months pregnant, sending Naomi’s carefully organized life spiralling into orbit. . .

‘Naomi’s Wish’ (called ‘Wishes and Stitches’ in the US) is the third book in Rachael Herron’s lovely-addictive contemporary romance series, ‘Cypress Hollow Yarn’.

I have really enjoyed this series. I read first book, ‘Eliza’s Gift’ last year, followed by ‘Lucy’s Kiss’ and was absolutely bowled over by how much I enjoyed the sweet little romances – set in the country town of Cypress Hollow, and loosely tangled around a renowned knitter called Eliza Carpenter. To be more precise, the stories are about the people who find themselves at loose ends after Eliza dies of cancer – but her friendships, plotting and patterns are still felt in the Hollow.

In the case of ‘Naomi’s Wish’, Dr Naomi Fontaine was Eliza’s doctor who, in the wake of Eliza’s sad passing, decides to pack her city life up and move to the Hollow. When the book begins, Naomi has been living in Cypress Hollow for quite a few months – but you’d never know it. The townspeople barely register her presence, and Naomi is too shy to initiate friendships or even acquaintances. It’s rather painful to read how shy Naomi is, and how misjudged by the town for her aloofness. So it’s rather a surprise when big, handsome Rig Keller walks through the door of the local diner, and Naomi is horrified to discover it’s the man she had a one-night stand with a few weeks ago. Seems that Naomi enjoyed letting her hair down outside of Cypress Hollow, but in a twist of fate that one moment of recklessness is coming to bite her in the behind. . .

Rig is actually in town for a few reasons. His brother, Jake, is a widower whose wife died three years ago. Jake and Megan had a big love, and her loss nearly crippled him. It’s something Rig has seen before – in their father, Frank. When Jake and Rig’s mum died, Frank stayed in bed for six months and it was only with coaxing and tough-love that Jake and Rig were able to save him from himself. Rig has come to Cypress Hollow and intends to stay; to help his brother and father any way he can, and watch his beloved nephew, Milo grow up. Jake is doing okay – he’s just a little over-protective and over-cautious, and he refuses to move or change anything that Megan touched.

When he sees Doc Naomi Fontaine, Rig is counting his lucky stars that he decided to leave the oil-rig life behind and move to the Hollow. Memories of her have been plaguing him for weeks, and he can’t believe his luck that the small town he has decided to move to comes complete with the woman of his dreams. But he’s a little surprised to discover that the Naomi from his day-dreams is a little more cold-shouldered in real life, less self-assured and painfully shy.

One of my favourite things in this book was the Keller family. Jake, Rig, Milo and Frank were wonderfully sweet, and offered some hilarious moments;

“So,” said Jake, and Rig could see the effort he was putting into cheering up. “How did your first day go as a new citizen?”
“I’m going to have to work with the hottest one-night stand I ever had.”
Jake said, “Rig!”
Milo bounced once, hard, and said, “My nightstand is next to my bed. Where’s yours?”

I found it really interesting that both Jake and Frank are wounded men – missing the loves of their lives. For Rig, his dad and brother’s heartbreak offers a warning not to lose your heart – but I thought it was really interesting to read about these men who have had to pick up the pieces of their lives after great loss.

I liked Naomi’s family a little less – mainly, her sister. Anna is Naomi’s half-sister, they share the same mother, but Anna’s father is their mother’s second husband, whom she is still married to. Naomi has always felt that Anna was their mother’s favourite – despite her recklessness. Anna ran away from home and has had a number of dubious jobs and relationships, and she is known to call up in the middle of the night and beg for money to be wired. When Anna winds up on Naomi’s front-porch, seven months pregnant and refusing to speak of the father, Naomi is upset but not all that surprised. There was so much friction and a history of hurt between Naomi and Anna, and I felt like we needed more page-time with the sisters. I also thought it was odd when Jake and Anna grew close . . . I thought that Anna was just using Jake at her convenience; she can’t hold down a job, has a baby on the way, so she sees leaching on to widower as the easy way out. Maybe Naomi loves her sister too much to think that critically of her, but I was really not keen on the Anna/Jake pairing and I wished someone would have pointed out the imbalance in the relationship.

I also thought that a lot of revelations happened to Naomi towards the end of the book. . .  and I wished that they had been more evenly distributed. Because they were such BIG revelations, I wanted Naomi (and the reader) to spend more time dissecting them – instead it felt like we were led to a galloping conclusion without the in-depth emotional examination I would have liked.

But those are my only small complaints about this book. Everything else worked for me. I loved Naomi and Rig – he was such a charming man’s man, while she was an awkward wallflower and it was adorable to read how those clashing personalities actually complemented one another. I also had quite a swoony moment, when Rig nursed Naomi through a bout of food-poisoning. I think everyone, at some stage, has wondered what their loved one’s gross-out limits are. Childbirth is probably a pretty good indicator; but food-poisoning has got to be up there because it ain’t pretty. And if my partner reacted the way that Rig did, they’d have my eternal devotion;

And even pale as she was, face shiny with dried sweat, her curls tangled as if they’d been in a blender, Rig’s heart twisted when he looked at her. He pressed kiss after kiss into her temple, her forehead, her cheek, and when he did, she snuggled closer to him, her arms wrapping around his neck or his arm, whatever was closest to her. He wasn’t sure if it was just because she was sick, but he hoped not. He loved it.

As with all the ‘Cypress Hollow Yarn’ books, I loved the custodial wisdom of Eliza Carpenter’s knitted words of wisdom. They’re lovely, interspersed throughout the chapters and surprisingly easy to apply to real-life;

Grace is knowing when to bind off.
-    E.C.

‘Naomi’s Wish’ was another beautiful romance by Rachael Herron. Reading one of these books is the equivalent to throwing a lovely knitted shawl over your shoulders and snuggling into the warmth. Lovely, lovely, lovely – and I do so hope it’s not the last time we visit Cypress Hollow, because I already want to return!

5/5

'Lucy's Kiss' Cypress Hollow Yarn #2 by Rachael Herron

Received from the Publisher

From the BLURB:

Lucy never forgot 'The Kiss'. Or the bad boy she shared it with.

Now, 17 years later, he's back - and, dammit, he's still sexy as hell…

As owner of The Book Spire in the sleepy town of Cypress Hollow, Lucy Harrison isn't used to too much excitement. But in one night all that changes when Owen Bancroft walks back into her life and sparks - quite literally - fly.

The question is, does he even remember their one perfect kiss? And, perhaps more importantly, does she really want him to?

Then, when a secret stash of books and lost patterns by world-famous knitting guru Eliza Carpenter are discovered in the Bancroft family home, the pair are thrown together once more. There's no denying the electricity between them - but this time will 'bad penny' Owen prove to be heart-stealer or heart-breaker?

Lucy Harrison’s life was irrevocably changed and set when she kissed Cypress Hollow’s resident bad boy, Owen Bancroft. She may have been only seventeen, and he did leave the very next day . . . but that kiss proved to be the standard by which all of Lucy’s other kisses have been measured. And, unfortunately, Owen set the norm for men in her life who love her and leave her.

But that’s okay. Lucy has come to accept the fact that she will always be alone. She will find joy and happiness in running the Bookspire Bookshop and hanging out with her best friend, Molly, down at her brother’s bar.

But all that changes when Abigail MacArthur is in a car accident that Lucy saves her from . . . with the help of Owen Bancroft.

That’s right, the bad-boy is back in town and suddenly Lucy’s spinster-fate seems to be up in the air.

Owen is back to look after his mother, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s. He’s also returned home to get his bearings and make some life decisions. A stray bullet from a friend shattered Owen’s police career, and now he’s a gimp with no prospects and no direction in life.

Enter Lucy Harrison. His high school tutor and the sweetest thing he left behind in Cypress Hollow. He never forgot that one kiss they shared the night before he left . . . and it seems Lucy hasn’t either.

‘Lucy’s Kiss’ is the second book in Rachael Herron’s heart-warmingly addictive ‘Cypress Hollow Yarn’ series. In the US it is titled ‘How to Knit a Heart Back Home’.

I was positively delighted by the first book in Herron’s series, ‘Eliza’s Gift’, so I went into this second instalment with high hopes . . . and Herron exceeded expectation!

Once again, there is a delicious romance at the centre of this novel. Herron doesn’t need to write flashback scenes to articulate the extent of Lucy’s teenage crush on the dark and enigmatic Owen Bancroft. It’s still so fresh in Lucy’s mind that when Owen reappears in town, she has an outpouring to her best friend Molly about the disastrous night of her best first kiss. There was a fuchsia, puffed-sleeve dress involved . . . and a vomiting photo that ended up in the school paper, to say the least. It’s like something out of ‘Never Been Kissed’ with Lucy as the veritable Josie Grosie.

But we also get Owen’s perspective on the teenage Lucy whom he left behind . . . and it warms the heart to read of the soft spot he had for his nerdy tutor. Everyone in Cypress Hollow was wary of Owen as ‘the bad seed’. His father was arrested three times and ended up dying in jail . . . the Bancroft family reputation preceded Owen his entire life. But Lucy was different. She tutored him when he was failing in math, and they shared one lovely, heated kiss that marked Owen’s only regret in blowing out of the little Hollow town.

When Owen returns to town he takes Lucy up on her offer to rent the parsonage behind her church-converted-bookstore. And that’s why sparks begin to fly. Neither of them can quite shake the crush of their past, and living in close proximity only heats those memories up. . . I absolutely adored Owen and Lucy. They share some of the sweetest moments that will make you go ‘awwww’. . .

Owen drew her closer and used his thumb to stroke the side of her face. “You’re doing good, heart.”

He didn’t know where that last damn word had come from. He wanted to take it back, to swallow it and hide it, put it away forever. And he wanted to hang it on a golden chain around her neck.

I really loved Owen. He’s a complicated character with an interesting back story. He may have once been the town bad-boy, but he made good by becoming a San Diego cop . . . until a drug-bust went bad and he was left with a permanent limp and discharge from the force. Now Owen is grappling with his emasculating injury and trying to sort out his altered career path, while also coming to terms with his mother’s downhill battle with Alzheimer’s. Lucy was a wonderful counterpoint to Owen’s woes. She’s bookish and shy, unchanging since high school and still pining for the one that got away. These two were deliciously sweet, an odd-couple who balanced each other and together they steamed up the page!

Once again, the thread that holds this whole ‘Cypress Hollow Yawn’ series together is Eliza Carpenter. She was the veritable rock star of patterned knitting, and a Cypress Hollow celebrity. When Owen moves back home he and Lucy sort through his muddled mother’s boxes of old things, and unearth some old handwritten notes and patterns from the late Eliza Carpenter . . . prompting Lucy to edit a new knitting book with her mentor’s memories.

I love the theme of this series. I never knew knitting could be such an art form – or a balm for the soul. But Herron infuses her book with a love of the woollen art, and the chapter-beginnings with words of wisdom from Eliza Carpenter are wonderful and endearing (and a little more profound than the usual knitting puns; knit happens!);

When you think that the knitting is all that matters, it’s time to put it down and look up to see the person sitting on the couch across from you. You may have forgotten who you’re knitting for.

- E.C.

Rachael Herron has created a wonderful new contemporary romance series, based around an ages-old tradition. She writes sparking chemistry for her knitastic heroines, and pairs them with lush heroes who will curl your toes. ‘Cypress Hollow Yarn’ is definitely one of my favourite new series, and Rachael Herron has become an automatic-buy author for me. I can’t wait for the third book ‘Knit Together by Love’. Knit on!

5/5

I love Rachael Herron’s warm narrative so much, I’m even going to read her non-fiction collection of essays titled ‘A Life in Stitches: Knitting My Way through Love, Loss, and Laughter’. It’s set for an August 2011 release, and I can’t wait!

'Eliza's Gift' Cypress Hollow Yarn #1 by Rachael Herron

From the BLURB:

When Abigail Durant inherits a cottage from her friend, the world famous knitting guru Eliza Carpenter, she sees it as her chance to start anew after the distressing end of her last relationship.

Only problem is, the cottage is slap-bang in the middle of a sheep ranch owned by Cade MacArthur, Eliza’s tall, dark and infuriating nephew.

Cade’s a man’s man, a cowboy through and through, and he’s none too pleased there’s now a young - albeit very pretty - woman living on his property. And that’s before she tells him she plans to turn her new home into a knitting shop ...

With battlelines drawn, city girl and cowboy go head to head. But soon, with the sexual chemistry fizzing between them, both start to question the real nature of Eliza’s gift...

Abigail Durant has discovered a light at the end of the tunnel and might just be starting to appreciate the silver lining. Her dear best friend and knitting partner, Eliza, has passed away . . . but left a cottage and a parcel of ranch land for Abigail in her will. This is just the turn-about that Abigail needs, after a disastrous break-up and no place to call her own.

Things are decidedly less peachy for Eliza’s nephew, Cade MacArthur. He thought Eliza’s land would be entitled to him following her death . . . but now this city-slicker madam comes barrelling onto his land, intent on the rundown cottage his aunt promised to her and even talking about turning it into a knitting shop.

Abigail and Cade butt heads almost instantly. He thinks her to be a gold-digger who leeched onto his aunt on her deathbed. She thinks him to be a hot-headed cowboy who didn’t treat his dear old auntie right.

But Eliza’s will dictates that these two have to live together, side-by-side . . . so that’s what they are going to (reluctantly) do.

‘Eliza’s Gift’ is the first book in Rachael Herron’s ‘Cypress Hollow Yarn’ series. In the US the book is titled ‘How to Knit a Love Story’, and has a decidedly different ho-hum cover.

I saw this book reviewed in an issue of Cleo magazine. It was touted as being decidedly ‘chick lit’ summer reading, but I was intrigued by the woven romance of a city-slicker knitter and a hot-headed cowboy . . . so I gave it a read, and was absolutely delighted.

The original title, ‘How to Knit a Love Story’, encompasses the big tied-together theme of the book. Knitting. Abigail may be a hot 20-something, but she is also a celebrity in the world of knitting. She met Eliza seven years ago and they struck up a friendship over mutual appreciation of a good cross-stitch. Eliza introduced Abigail to the benefits of book-writing about her passion, and launched her career. Now Abigail is a celebrated pattern-maker, selling her samples to magazines and writing best-selling novels on the subject of knitting. In the little niche market of clickety-clackers, Eliza and Abigail were infamous. Now Abigail is intent on carrying on Eliza’s legacy, and opening up a wool shop, knitting club cottage on the parcel of land left to her in Eliza’s will.

It’s just a shame that Eliza’s nephew, the Cypress Hollow Lothario, doesn’t care two figs about knitting and is fuming over the beak-up of his land.

And it’s just a crying-shame that Abigail is such a fine-looking woman. If she hadn’t swooped in, and set alpacas free on his land, Cade might just have been attracted to her . . . as it is, he's determined to curb his libido and push Abigail off his (rightful) property.

While Abigail sets up her knitters cottage, she and Cade try (unsuccessfully) to ignore one another. But impromptu skinny-dipping and Cade’s hero act keeps throwing them into hot and lusty situations . . . until both of them break under the pressure of trying to ignore their feelings.

I loved the romance in this novel. Cade and Abigail had a great push-pull relationship that had plenty of sparking chemistry and just enough ‘will they or won’t they?’ to keep their romance taut with delicious tension. Of course, it helped that Cade was a lovely swaggering cowboy – all gruff and manly and my kinda hero. Abigail was a lovely balance to him – she’s very sunshiney (without being sickening) and delightfully endearing. Herron has written her as a bit of a klutz, doing stupidly eye-rolling things like accidentally flooding Cade’s bathroom and getting her ankle sprained on an alpaca-trek. I thought Abigail was a little bit hilarious, and I loved her enduring loyalty to Eliza and her determination to carry out her mentor’s wishes.

But what surprised me about this novel was the loveliness of the knitting. Each chapter begins with a knitting-tip from one of Eliza’s best-selling books. It was lovely how things like persevering with the yoke or believing that nobody will notice your mistakes on the finished product translated to good life lessons. I may not have understood all of the knit-jargon, but there were some lovely words of wisdom amidst the instructions on sleeve-measurements and button-picking.

I also found the whole knitting-fame thing a nice angle too. It makes sense – pattern books can always be found in bookstores, libraries and craft stores. I just never stopped to think about the people who would have to create those patterns to make the books . . . let alone that those people would be ‘rock stars’ in their world – followed by bloggers, pestered for autographs and hailed as revolutionaries of their craft! And the knitting community provided many chuckles throughout ‘Eliza’s Gift’. My favourite scene occurred at a knitting launch party, when Cade was wrangled into trying on a sweater-in-progress, and ogled by little old knitting ladies;

She worked the neckline over his head. He was naked from the waist up again. During that moment when the sweater was in front of his face, their eye connection was broken.

She tried to catch hold of herself, of her racing heart.

For God’s sake, they were in a room full of women, could she at least prevent herself from behaving like a teenager? All giddy and red and blushing. Were her hands shaking?

As he reached for his original sweater, she thought she saw his hands shaking, too.

“Wouldn’t you love a sweater like that, huh? What would you do for a sweater like that?” said someone from the back of the parlour.

Another woman called out, “I know how to knit, baby. I’ll make you a sweater. I’ll help you put it on. And take it off!”

Cade shook his head, as if to clear it. . .

Everything about ‘Eliza’s Gift’ worked for me. From the tension-filled odd-couple romance to the infamous side of knitting. There’s a side-story about one of Abigail’s crazy stalker boyfriends which is a touch outlandish, but by the time that plot was in play I was well and truly invested and uproariously delighted with this gem of a yarn (ha!). I’ll be happily diving into the second book ‘Lucy’s Gift’ (or ‘How to Knit a Heart Back Home’, to US readers).

5/5